With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.
Job Summary
To support the execution of the Lending Products Fraud Risk Strategy within the Business Banking portfolio by developing, coordinating, and implementing effective fraud prevention and detection controls.Job Description
Key accountabilities
Fraud Strategy Leadership
Develop and execute a comprehensive lending fraud strategy aligned to the bank’s overall business and risk objectives.
Lead the design and implementation of fraud prevention, detection, and response frameworks across all Business Banking lending products.
Define and monitor the fraud risk appetite for lending portfolios, ensuring it is aligned to strategic and operational targets.
Drive a data- and intelligence-led approach to managing emerging lending fraud threats.
Fraud Risk Governance
Establish and maintain governance structures for oversight of lending-related fraud risks.
Serve as the key fraud representative in relevant risk and product committees.
Ensure compliance with regulatory obligations and internal fraud policies and standards.
Oversee periodic fraud risk assessments, scenario analyses, and stress testing for lending portfolios.
Fraud Prevention & Control Design
Partner with Credit Risk, Product, and Operations to design robust front-end fraud controls during customer onboarding and credit application processes.
Implement end-to-end control frameworks across disbursement, limit management, and collections functions.
Ensure fraud risk is embedded into product design, digital platforms, and process automation initiatives.
Detection, Analytics & Intelligence
Oversee the development of advanced data analytics and behavioural models to detect loan application and disbursement fraud (e.g., identity theft, synthetic identities, collusion, first-party fraud, and mule activity).
Champion the use of AI/ML tools for early detection of anomalies and proactive intervention.
Maintain close collaboration with Data Science and Technology to enhance system rules, thresholds, and scoring models.
Leverage internal and external intelligence networks to identify and mitigate emerging threats.
Incident & Portfolio Management
Lead strategic reviews of material lending fraud cases and losses to identify control failures and process improvement opportunities.
Track and analyse portfolio-level fraud trends, loss ratios, and false-positive rates.
Ensure implementation of corrective and preventive actions following incident investigations.
Manage escalations and support senior management during regulatory or audit reviews.
People & Stakeholder Leadership
Build and lead a high-performing team of fraud strategy professionals, analysts, and subject matter experts.
Foster strong partnerships with Credit, Operations, Collections, Legal, Compliance, and Technology teams.
Influence senior stakeholders to ensure fraud risk is proactively considered in strategic initiatives.
Promote a fraud risk–aware culture throughout the business banking ecosystem.
Preferred Education
Bachelor’s degree in Risk Management, Finance, Accounting, Business, Statistics or related field.
CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner) advantageous
Preferred Experience
7 - 10 years’ experience in fraud risk management, credit risk, or financial crime, with exposure to business banking or commercial lending.
Strong understanding of lending fraud typologies including application fraud, identity theft, collusion, first-party fraud, and synthetic identities.
Experience in assessing fraud risk within loan origination, underwriting, and disbursement processes.
Familiarity with fraud detection systems, data analytics, and case management tools (e.g., SAS, Instinct).
Working knowledge of relevant regulatory and governance frameworks.
Education
Bachelor's Degree: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.
Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised